Machine for drying fibrous substances



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JEREMIAH ESSEX, OF NORTH BENNINGTON, VERMONT.

MACHINE FOR DRYING- FIBROUS SUBSTANCES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEREMIAH ESSEX, of North Bennington, in the countyof Bennington and State of Vermont, have invented, made, and applied touse a certain new and useful improvement in machinery for dryingcotton-batting, paper hangings, muslins, cloths, and other fibroussubstances; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the construction and operation of the same,reference being had to the annexed drawing, making part of thisspecification, wherein- Figure 1, is a vertical section of my saidinvention, and Fig. 2, is an end view o-f the same.

Similar marks of reference denote the same parts.

In the drying of cotton batting considerable inconvenience is found onaccount of the great length required for the horizontal apron; and ifthe apron were carried up and down or backward and forward the side ofthe cotton that had been glazed or sized would be brought into contactwith the shafts or rollers under which it passed, causing the cotton toadhere to said roller. The same may be said relatively to the drying ofpaper hangings, for the surface would be injured by coming in contactwith any roller or shaft before the ground color or the printing weredry; and in the drying-of cloths, glazed muslins, &c., the surface isinjured by coming against any substance in the process of drying.

To avoid the before mentioned difficulties and expose a large extent ofsurface of the material to be dried to the operation of heat in a smallspace, I make use of an endless apron of cloth slats or other articlesrunning up over rollers or cylinders and down beneath drums or pulleysthat act only on the edge of the apron, while the fibrous material thatis to be dried is laid on or attached to this apron and is moved alongon the same, and carried up over the top rollers and down in the bendformed in the apron at the point where the same passes the pulleys thattake on the edges of said apron.

In the drawing a, a is a frame of suitable size carrying two or morerollers or cylinders Z), Z9, near the top thereof, over which theendless apron c, passes and is carried up and down the desired number oftimes and 4returned beneath the machine to the point of beginning.

6l, d, are drums or pulleys near the ends of cross shafts c, e, aroundwhich the edges.

of the apron pass at the lowest points of the various leads; and thediierent rollers may be connected together by co-rds or bands as shownso as to relieve the apron of the power necessary to revolve the parts.

When the apron is made of cloth it should have a rope or cord sewed intoits edge to travel over the pulleys CZ, d, and rollers b, b, whichshould 'be grooved at this point to keep the apron in position widthwiseof the machine.

f is a roller which may be adjustable to keep the necessary tension onthe apron, and near this point the batting or other fibrous material islaid onto the apron and travels therewith, up and down, and its surfaceis untouched by any substance until dry.

In those cases where the shrinkage of the material in drying such aswith paper hangings, would be liable to bring the surface in contactwith .the cross shafts e, c, they may be dispensed with and the pulleysd, d, set on short studs or gudgeons. And where the length of materialto be dried and the time necessary for the purpose, would render onesingle apron inconvenient to keep in order on account of its length, twoor more aprons may be used, the material that is being dried passingfrom the top roller of one, to that adjoining, of the next apron.

To wind up the batting cloth or other material I provide a roller g inbearings h, 7L, beneath which is a friction reel z', rotated in theright direction by the belt 7c, and the ends of the roller g rest on theheads of reel i, so that said roller g is revolved by friction from theheads (i, 21,) and if the weight of the roller g be such that thefriction will wind the paper with the necessary tension, the roll willcontinue to be wound with about the same tension as it increases insize, in consequence of the increased weight on the shaft of the roller,producing more.V

friction. Having thus described the nature and operation of my saidinvention I wish it to be understood that I do not claim an endless Yvious instance in which an apron has been by the pulleys d, d, or theirequivalents so guided by pulleys or their `equivalents at acting on theedges only of said endless the lower portions of `their folds acting atapron in the manner and for the purposes the edges only of such apron,Vthat the Whole specified. 15

5 upper surface of the goods being dried is In Witness whereof Ihavehereunto set untouched by any roller shaft or guide, my signaturethis twelfth day of February p whereby all injury is avoided. 1859. 1f

Therefore What I claim as my invention J. ESSEX. and desire to secure byLetters Patent is- Witnesses: Y l0 The manner herein specified ofguiding LEMUEL W. SERREL@V an ascending and descending endless apronHEMAN WHIPPTE.

